How Drama Helps Your Child Develop a Sense of Self
What is a sense of self? Is it something we are born with or something we acquire as we grow up? Why is embodying a healthy sense of self important? And how can we help our children develop positively such a non-tangible quality? Studies conducted by the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development at the University […]
Why Children Need to Play
How do children learn? How do they grasp entire language systems, codes of communication, symbolic thinking, and mastery of the skills they need to read and write? The answer is so simple that it’s sometimes too difficult to grasp. Babies and young children learn through play! How can that be? Well, do you remember those […]
Raising a Bilingual Child
Learning a second, or third, language was considered a thing for grown-ups to do. Global communication now requires us to be educated in more than one language and linguistic studies show that the ideal time to learn a language is as early as possible, from birth. Helping Your Child Learn a Second Language There was […]
Conditions for Nurturing Writing
Entering the world of writing should be exciting and fulfilling. To wield the power of words, making imagination and thoughts concrete is an empowering experience. And how satisfying to know that once a story is written, the words on the page are there to be revisited and enjoyed as many times as you want. All […]
Conditions for Nurturing Reading
Entering the world of reading and books can be a wonderful experience for a child. How exciting to discover that inside the covers of books lie myriad worlds just waiting for you to enter and enjoy. What a wonderful feeling it is to let your imagination soar on the power of words! Is reading like […]
There is No Such Thing as a Naughty Child
“My child doesn’t want to go to school.” “He’s so playful, never wants to work.” “She’s very lazy. Won’t do her homework.” “My son doesn’t want to sit still. He only wants to run and play.” These parental woes often end with the common lament: “He’s very naughty!” Yes, it may seem that way; a […]
Learning for Life – the Five C’s
Learning to be… creative, curious, clever, calm, centered What must children learn in order to be successful in school? Children are born learners Success is fuelled by two strong internal statements: I CAN – confidence & independence I WANT – motivation & self-awareness We are genetically coded to learn an amazing range of skills and […]
Learning in Infancy
During the first two to three years of life, a young child achieves greater milestones than at any other time. This is the time he’ll learn to walk, talk, form attachments and ensure that his needs are met. More importantly, he’ll develop his attitude, or approach, to life. He’ll learn to meet new, or difficult, […]
It Takes Two to Talk
Sometimes in our anxiety to help our children develop good communication skills we put them under extra pressure and talking becomes a ‘chore’ rather than an enjoyable, useful experience. When we are trying to help our children, we teach them as though they are giving a presentation. Consider our own communication, express our best selves, […]
Helping our Children Build Communication Skills for the 21st Century
The communication process is complex. Communication is at the heart of how we relate to one another. We communicate to fulfill social obligations (Hi! How are you? I’m fine thank you) and to develop relationships. For children to become competent communicators they need three key ingredients: Motivation, knowledge and skills. Communication is the process we […]
